Bellator MMA Announces Three First Quarter Events, Includes Four Title Fights

Bellator is primed to kick off 2015 with a bang as the promotion has announced the first three events of 2015, all of which will be headlined by hotly contested title fights.

The first event announced was Bellator 132, which will take place on January 16 at the Pechanga Resort and Casino in Southern California. A featherweight title fight between reigning champion Patricio Pitbull and former champion Daniel Straus will serve as the main event.

Pitbull (22-2), who defeated Straus in their previous meeting at Bellator 45, will enter this bout riding a five-fight win streak, with three ending in knockout. In his most recent outing, fans saw the powerful Brazilian reach his goal of being crowned Bellator’s 145-pound champion when he earned a unanimous decision over then champion and longtime rival Pat Curran at Bellator 123 in September. Pitbull currently holds 16 career stoppage victories under his belt, including nine by way of knockout.

Straus (23-5), the very man Curran won the belt from, was last seen walking away with a violent knockout victory over Justin Wilcox just 50 seconds into their main event fight at Bellator 127 in October. He will enter this bout with 9 career stoppage victories and a Bellator MMA record of 9-2.

Also announced was Bellator 133, which will take place on February 27 at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut. The night will feature what Bellator calls a full “British Invasion” as Bellator Welterweight Champion Douglas Lima puts his title on the line against Nottingham native Paul Daley, while Emanuel Newton defends his strap against rising light heavyweight star and Daley’s fellow Englishmen Liam McGeary.

Lima (26-5), also a former MFC champion, was last seen earning his belt with a second-round TKO victory over Rick Hawn in their title fight at Bellator 117 in April. This victory not only extended Lima’s win streak to five, all of which ended in a knockout, but also marked his eighth career victory under the Bellator banner. Prior to this win streak, ‘The Phenom’ came up short in his previous attempt at the belt when he suffered a decision loss to then-champion Ben Askren at Bellator 64 in April 2012. Lima will enter this bout with 23 career stoppage victories.

Daley (35-13-2), a former UFC and Strikeforce veteran, will enter this bout having picked up knockout victories in six of his last seven bouts, including a perfectly placed flying knee to the skull of Patrick Vallee in February 2013. This fight will also mark the Englishman’s first Bellator appearance since July 2012. Since that night, both visa and legal issues kept the man known ‘Semtex’ from entering the United States. He will enter this bout with 28 career stoppage victories, including 26 by way of knockout.

Also scheduled to appear on the main card will be professional wrestling superstar and Bellator heavyweight Bobby Lashley (12-2), as well as Pride FC veteran Sokoudjou(16-12) as they square off against a pair of London natives in James Thompson (20-14) and Linton Vassell (14-4).

The final event announced was Bellator 134, which will take place at the Winstar World Casino and Resort in Oklahoma. A bantamweight title fight between newly crowned champion Joe Warren and Marcos Galvao will headline the night.

Warren (12-3), who defeated Galvao in their initial meeting at Bellator 41, will enter this bout riding a five fight winning streak. In his most recent outing, fans saw “The Baddest Man on the Planet” become Bellator’s 135-pound champion after earning a unanimous decision over then-champion Eduardo Dantas at Bellator 128 in October. This victory also made Warren the first man to hold two belts in two separate weight classes in the promotion’s history, as he previously held the featherweight title before dropping the belt to Curran.

Galvao (16-6-1), the Bellator Season 6 Bantamweight Tournament Winner, was last seen earning a decision win over Thomas Vasquez at Bellator 118 in May. Prior to this win, the man known as “Loro” earned back-to-back TKO victories over Tom McKenna and Shely Santana under the Bellator and Shooto banners.

Tickets for all three events are on sale now and can be purchased on Bellator.com

More information on each fight card will be made available in the coming weeks.

About The Author

José began his career as a mixed martial arts journalist while still enrolled at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communications at Arizona State University. Since graduating in May 2013, he has attended dozens of high profile UFC fight cards as a credentialed member of the media, providing live cage side coverage through his articles and videos. His work has appeared on UFC.com, ArizonaSports.com and AZCentral. He is also currently one of the main contributors on Power MMA Show at Arizona Sports 98.7 FM, one of the first all MMA radio shows on a major radio station.